Liquid ejecting apparatus and maintenance method of the same

ABSTRACT

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a support stage that supports a recording medium; a liquid ejecting portion that has a liquid ejecting unit ejecting an ink to the supported recording medium; a ventilation fan that causes a gas to flow between the liquid ejecting unit and the support stage; a throttle portion that increases a flow velocity of the gas; and a controller that is enabled to execute a strong wind mode in which the gas increased in the flow velocity by the throttle portion flows between the liquid ejecting portion and the support stage, and a breeze mode in which the gas before being increased in the flow velocity by the throttle portion flows between the liquid ejecting portion and the support stage. The controller executes the breeze mode during recording work and executes the strong wind mode during non-recording work.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus in which anink is ejected from a liquid ejecting unit to a medium, and amaintenance method of a liquid ejecting apparatus.

2. Related Art

In the related art, there is a known liquid ejecting apparatus in thistype provided with a table on which media are mounted, a recording headwhich ejects an ink to the media, a Y-bar which holds the recording headto be movable in a scanning direction, and an air flow generationmechanism which generates an air flow between the recording head and themedia (refer to JP-A-2011-143657). This air flow generation mechanismhas an intake fan and removes an ink mist and the like scattered on themedia with the air flow between the recording head and the mediagenerated by driving the intake fan.

Incidentally, in the liquid ejecting apparatus in this type, there is ademand for a mist of a liquid to be strongly removed. Regarding this, inthe liquid ejecting apparatus of the related art, it is conceivable thatthe number of rotation of the intake fan is increased to raise a flowvelocity of the air flow.

However, in such a configuration, as the result of increasing the flowvelocity of the air flow, there is a disadvantage in that inconvenienceoccurs in recording work. In other words, if the air flow of a fast flowvelocity is generated during the recording work, there is a disadvantagein that flying deflection of the ink ejected from the recording headoccurs due to this air flow. This air flow also causes a disadvantage inthat a large amount of mist generated during the recording work issprayed to the media, thereby causing a stain on the media.

SUMMARY

An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a liquidejecting apparatus with a simple configuration through which a mist canbe removed and inconvenience does not occur while ejecting a liquid, anda maintenance method of a liquid ejecting apparatus.

According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a liquidejecting apparatus includes a stage that has a support surfacesupporting a medium; a liquid ejecting portion that has a liquidejecting unit ejecting a liquid to the medium which is supported by thestage; an air flow generation portion that causes a gas to flow betweenthe liquid ejecting portion and the support surface; a flow velocityincreasing portion that increases a flow velocity of the gas; and acontroller that is enabled to execute a first mode in which the gasincreased in the flow velocity by the flow velocity increasing portionflows between the liquid ejecting portion and the support surface, and asecond mode in which the gas before being increased in the flow velocityby the flow velocity increasing portion flows between the liquidejecting portion and the support surface. The controller executes thesecond mode while ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejecting unit tothe medium and executes the first mode while not ejecting the liquidfrom the liquid ejecting unit to the medium.

It is preferable that the flow velocity increasing portion have athrottle portion that throttles a flow channel in which the gas flows.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided amaintenance method of a liquid ejecting apparatus including a stage thathas a support surface supporting a medium; a liquid ejecting portionthat has a liquid ejecting unit ejecting a liquid to the medium which issupported by the stage; an air flow generation portion that causes a gasto flow between the liquid ejecting portion and the support surface; anda flow velocity increasing portion that increases a flow velocity of thegas, the method including causing the gas before being increased in theflow velocity by the flow velocity increasing portion to flow betweenthe liquid ejecting portion and the stage while ejecting the liquid fromthe liquid ejecting unit to the medium; and causing the gas increased inthe flow velocity by the flow velocity increasing portion to flowbetween the liquid ejecting portion and the stage while not ejecting theliquid from the liquid ejecting unit to the medium.

In this case, while not ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejectingunit to the medium, the gas after being increased in the flow velocityby the flow velocity increasing portion is caused to flow between theliquid ejecting portion and the support surface, thereby generating anair flow of the fast flow velocity (strong wind) in the space thereof.On the other hand, while ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejectingunit to the medium, the gas before being increased in the flow velocityby the flow velocity increasing portion is caused to flow between theliquid ejecting portion and the support surface, thereby generating anair flow of the slow flow velocity (breeze) in the space thereof. Inthis manner, while not ejecting the liquid, a mist can be stronglyremoved as if blown off by the air flow of the fast flow velocity. Whileejecting the liquid, the mist can be removed using the air flow of theslow flow velocity. Therefore, it is possible to effectively preventflying deflection of the ejected liquid and spraying of the mist to themedium. In this manner, the mist of the liquid can be removed through asimple configuration and inconvenience does not occur while ejecting theliquid.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is preferable that a plurality ofthe throttle portions be provided and the plurality of throttle portionsbe arranged in parallel to each other.

In this case, it is possible to generate a uniform air flow in adirection orthogonal to a flow channel direction by arranging theplurality of throttle portions.

It is preferable that the flow channel between the air flow generationportion and the plurality of throttle portions be formed to beintegrally manifold causing each of the throttle portions to serve as abranch flow channel.

In this case, a flowing amount of the air flow to each of the throttleportions is uniform regardless of a position of the air flow generationportion, and thus, it is possible to generate more uniform air flow inthe direction orthogonal to the flow channel direction.

It is preferable that a plurality of air flow generation portions beprovided, and the plurality of air flow generation portions be arrangedin parallel to each other.

In this case, it is possible to generate still more uniform air flow inthe direction orthogonal to the flow channel direction by arranging theplurality of air flow generation portions.

It is preferable that the liquid ejecting unit have a liquid ejectinghead which ejects the liquid, an intake/exhaust portion which takes inand exhaust the gas, and a moving portion which moves the liquidejecting head and the intake/exhaust portion, and the controller drivethe intake/exhaust portion when executing the first mode.

It is preferable that the intake/exhaust portion be provided with anintake port, an exhaust port and a filter which captures the liquid.

In this case, it is possible to remove the mist scattered in the spacewhich the air flow generation portion cannot reach by providing theintake/exhaust portion. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent amechanism positioned in the space from adhering of the mist causinginconvenience.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a liquidejecting apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a plan view of the liquid ejecting apparatus, FIG. 2B is afront view thereof, and FIG. 2C is a side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a front view illustrating the liquid ejecting apparatus ofwhich a portion of a support stage and a portion of an apparatus coverare not illustrated.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV illustratingsurroundings of the support stage and a Y-axis moving portion.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a liquid ejecting portion ofwhich the apparatus cover is not illustrated.

FIG. 6 is a front view illustrating a liquid ejecting portion of whichthe apparatus cover is not illustrated.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a head unit.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII illustratingsurroundings of the head unit and a ventilation portion.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the surroundings ofthe ventilation portion.

FIG. 10A is a view illustrating an air flow generated during a recordingoperation, and FIG. 10B is a view illustrating the air flow generatedduring a standby.

FIG. 11A is a plan view illustrating an ultraviolet irradiation unit,FIG. 11B is a side view thereof, and FIG. 11C is a front view thereof.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XII-XII illustratingthe ultraviolet irradiation unit.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of controlling illustrating a controlconfiguration of the liquid ejecting apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the embodiment ofthe present invention will be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings. This liquid ejecting apparatus records a desiredimage on a recording medium (medium) by ejecting an ultraviolet curingink (electromagnetic wave curing ink) through an ink jet method. Theliquid ejecting apparatus is a so-called flatbed-type recordingapparatus which performs recording by moving a liquid ejecting head withrespect to the recording medium supported by a support stage. As therecording medium, for example, recording media with different thicknessfrom each other such as cardboard, wood, tile, a plastic board, astyrene board and corrugated cardboard are conceived. As illustrated ineach drawing, an X-axis (lateral) direction, a Y-axis (front/rear)direction and a Z-axis (vertical) direction are defined for descriptionshereinafter. The side in the front of FIG. 1 is a front side of theliquid ejecting apparatus, and the side in the rear of FIG. 1 is a rearside of the liquid ejecting apparatus.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, a liquid ejecting apparatus 1 isprovided with a support stage (stage) 11 that is supported by four legmembers 10 and supports a recording medium A, a liquid ejecting portion12 that has a head unit 31 confronts the supported recording medium A,an Y-axis moving portion 13 that supports the liquid ejecting portion 12and moves the liquid ejecting portion 12 in the Y-axis direction withrespect to the support stage 11, and a controller 14 (refer to FIG. 13)that controls each of the portions. The liquid ejecting portion 12 makesa bridge over the support stage 11 so as to across in the X-axisdirection. Meanwhile, the Y-axis moving portion 13 is arranged tooverlap with the support stage 11 on a rear surface side (surface onside opposite to liquid ejecting portion 12 side) of the support stage11, and movably supports the liquid ejecting portion 12 on the rearsurface side of the support stage 11.

Next, the support stage 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1,2A, 2B, 2C and 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of surroundings ofthe support stage 11 and the Y-axis moving portion 13 seen from a rearside taken along line IV-IV. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 2C and4, the support stage 11 has a pair of right and left structural angles21 in beam shapes which extends in the Y-axis direction, a plurality ofsupport materials 22 which are arranged lengthwise and crosswise betweenthe pair of structural angles 21, and an adsorption table 23 which issupported by the pair of structural angles 21 and the plurality ofsupport materials 22 and to which the recording medium A is adsorbed andset. End portions of each of the structural angles 21 are respectivelyconnected to the leg members 10 by welding and the like. An operationpanel portion 24 is arranged in a front end portion of the support stage11. An opening/closing door 24 a is disposed widely in a right halfportion of the operation panel portion 24. When performing maintenancefor the liquid ejecting portion 12 manually, the liquid ejecting portion12 is moved to a side of the front (front side), and the opening/closingdoor 24 a is opened to perform the maintenance for the liquid ejectingportion 12 through the opening/closing door 24 a.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the liquid ejecting portion 12 includesa head unit 31 confronting the recording medium A, an X-axis movingportion 32 which supports the head unit 31 on a rear side and moves thehead unit 31 in the X-axis direction, a horizontal bridge frame 33 whichsupports the X-axis moving portion 32, a pair of right and left sideframes 34 which supports the horizontal bridge frame 33 on both sides inthe X-axis direction, a connection frame 35 which connects base portionsides of the pair of side frames 34 with each other, an apparatus cover(refer to FIG. 1) 36 which covers these components, and a ventilationportion 38 (refer to FIG. 8) which is disposed on a rear surface wall 36b of the apparatus cover 36 and removes an ink mist. This ink mist isgenerated in accordance with ejection of an ink by the liquid ejectinghead 52.

The liquid ejecting portion 12 has a plate-shaped member 41 which isarranged on the rear side of the horizontal bridge frame 33 in theY-axis direction and holds an ink tube or a cable, and a maintenanceunit 43 which is arranged in a right end portion and promotesmaintenance and recovery in function of the liquid ejecting head 52.

The horizontal bridge frame 33 extends in the X-axis direction so as tocross over the support stage 11. In addition, each of the side frames 34extends below the support stage 11, and the connection frame 35 isconnected to lower end portions of both the side frames 34 on a lowerside of the support stage 11. An up/down moving portion 37 which movesthe head unit 31 up and down is embedded in each of the side frames 34through the horizontal bridge frame 33 and the X-axis moving portion 32.This up/down moving portion 37 brings the head unit 31 close to or awayfrom the support stage 11 or the recording medium A in a verticaldirection (gap adjustment).

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the head unit 31 has a liquid ejecting unit 53in which two liquid ejecting heads 52 are mounted on a box-shapedcarriage 51, and a pair of ultraviolet irradiation units (intake/exhaustportion) 54 which is arranged respectively adjacent to both sides of theliquid ejecting unit 53 in the X-axis direction. The liquid ejectingunit 53 and the pair of ultraviolet irradiation units 54 areindividually supported by the X-axis moving portion 32 on their rearsides. The liquid ejecting unit 53 and the pair of ultravioletirradiation units 54 are configured to move together by the X-axismoving portion 32. Each of the ultraviolet irradiation units 54 alsofunctions as a mist collecting portion which collects the ink mist andwill be described below in detail.

Each of the liquid ejecting heads 52 is an ink jet head which is drivento eject by a piezoelectric element (Piezo element) and has a pluralityof nozzle rows (not illustrated) in colors extending in the Y-axisdirection. In other words, the liquid ejecting head 52 is configured tobe able to eject the ultraviolet curing inks in multiple colors. Anozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head 52 faces the recording mediumA and ejects the ink downward. The nozzle surfaces of two liquidejecting heads 52 are positioned at the same height. Although apiezo-type ink jet head is adopted in the embodiment, without beinglimited thereto, an ink jet head of a thermal method or an electrostaticmethod may be adopted, for example. Without being limited to theseon-demand-type ink jet heads, a continuous-type ink jet head may beadopted.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, the X-axis moving portion 32 has a pairof upper and lower guide axes 61 which is supported by the horizontalbridge frame 33 and supports the head unit 31 to be able to reciprocatein the X-axis direction, an X-axis driving mechanism 62 which drives thehead unit 31 along the pair of guide axes 61, and an X-axis detectingmechanism 67 which detects a moving position of the head unit 31 in theX-axis direction.

The X-axis driving mechanism 62 includes a timing belt 63 which extendsin the X-axis direction along the pair of guide axes 61, a drivingpulley 66 and a driven pulley 64 around which the timing belt 63 iswound, a connection fixing portion (not illustrated) which connects thetiming belt 63 and the head unit 31, and a carriage motor 65 whichdrives the driving pulley 66. In the X-axis moving portion 32, the headunit 31 reciprocates in the X-axis direction of the pair of guide axes61 through the timing belt 63 by reciprocally rotating the carriagemotor 65.

The X-axis detecting mechanism 67 has a linear scale 71 which isdisposed along the X-axis direction; and a detector 72 (refer to FIG.13) which is fixed to the head unit 31, reads a scale of the linearscale 71, and detects a moving position of the head unit 31.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the Y-axis moving portion 13 is arrangedbetween the support stage 11 and the connection frame 35, and moves theliquid ejecting portion 12 in the Y-axis direction with respect to thesupport stage 11. The Y-axis moving portion 13 has a pair of linearguide mechanisms 86 which is positioned on both the right and left sideson the rear surface side of the support stage 11 and slides the liquidejecting portion 12 in the Y-axis direction with respect to the supportstage 11, a Y-axis moving mechanism 87 which is positioned in the centeron the rear surface side of the support stage 11 and moves the liquidejecting portion 12 in the Y-axis direction with respect to the supportstage 11, and a driving motor 88 which drives the Y-axis movingmechanism 87. Each of the linear guide mechanisms 86 is configured of aLM guide (registered trademark) mechanism. The Y-axis moving mechanism87 is configured of a ball screw mechanism.

Here, the ventilation portion 38 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit 54will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12. As illustrated inFIGS. 8 and 9, the ventilation portion 38 ventilates an atmosphere(including air and ink mist) around a gap space G between the liquidejecting unit 53 and the support stage 11 (or recording medium Asupported thereby). The gap space G is a space between the liquidejecting unit 53 which moves to each position in the X-axis directionfacing the support stage 11, and the support stage 11. Specifically, thegap space G is a space between the nozzle surface of the liquid ejectinghead 52 in the liquid ejecting unit 53 and a support surface of thesupport stage 11. In the liquid ejecting apparatus 1, an intake/exhaustflow channel R is provided from an opening 121 between a front surfacewall 36 a of the apparatus cover 36 and the support stage 11 (orrecording medium A supported thereby) to a plurality of ventilationports 122 which are disposed in a rear surface wall 36 b of theapparatus cover 36 passing through the gap space G and a space in whichthe liquid ejecting unit 53 moves. The plurality of the ventilationports 122 are arranged in parallel in the X-axis direction. Theventilation portion 38 leads air to flow through this intake/exhaustflow channel R and generates the air flow in the front/rear direction,and thus, the ink mist moves downwind of the air flow so as to beexhausted (removed) to the outside of the apparatus (outside apparatuscover 36). In the X-axis direction, a width of a region through whichthe ventilation portion 38 can intake and exhaust is set wider than awidth of a recording region.

The ventilation portion 38 includes a plurality of ventilation fans (airflow generation portion) 123 which are respectively disposed in theplurality of ventilation ports 122, and a flow channel forming member125 which has throttle portions (flow velocity increasing portion) 124interposed between the plurality of ventilation fans 123 and the gapspace G.

The flow channel forming member 125 is arranged to be close to the rearsurface wall 36 b of the apparatus cover 36 and has a box shapeconstituted of a front wall 125 a, a rear wall 125 b, a bottom wall 125c and both side walls 125 d. The front wall 125 a of the flow channelforming member 125 has a plurality of slit portions (opening portions)126, thereby forming a plurality of the throttle portions 124. Theplurality of the throttle portions 124 are arranged in parallel in theX-axis direction and respectively have the slit portions 126. Each ofthe slit portions 126 is slit-shaped opening portion which extends inthe X-axis direction. The plurality of the throttle portions 124throttle the intake/exhaust flow channel R through each of the slitportions 126, thereby increasing a velocity of the air flow on adownstream side thereof. An opening area of the opening 121 is set widerthan an opening area throughout the plurality of slit portions 126. Theplurality of slit portions 126 are arranged above the nozzle surface ofthe liquid ejecting head 52.

In addition, a top wall portion of the flow channel forming member 125is blocked by the plate-shaped member 41. In other words, the flowchannel forming member 125 in association with the plate-shaped member41 is configured to form the flow channels between the plurality ofthrottle portions 124 (plurality of slit portions 126) and the pluralityof ventilation fans 123 (plurality of ventilation ports 122) out of theintake/exhaust flow channel R. The flow channel forming member 125 has awidth in which the plurality of throttle portions 124 and the pluralityof ventilation ports 122 are included, thereby being formed to bemanifold causing the plurality of throttle portions 124 to serve asbranch flow channels and formed to be manifold causing the plurality ofventilation ports 122 to serve as branch flow channels.

The plurality of ventilation fans 123 are arranged in each of theventilation ports 122 to be arranged in parallel in the X-axisdirection. Each of the ventilation fans 123 is configured to beswitchable between normal rotation driving to execute forced air exhaustand reverse rotation driving to execute forced air intake. The forcedair exhaust denotes that air in the intake/exhaust flow channel R isforcibly discharged outside the apparatus such that air flows from theopening 121 side toward the ventilation port 122 side in theintake/exhaust flow channel R due to the forced air exhaust. Meanwhile,the forced air intake denotes that air outside the apparatus is forciblytaken into the intake/exhaust flow channel R such that air flows fromthe ventilation port 122 side toward the opening 121 side in theintake/exhaust flow channel R due to the forced air intake.

During the forced air exhaust, since the air flow is generated from theopening 121 to the plurality of ventilation ports 122, the throttleportion 124 is positioned on the downstream side of the gap space G(refer to FIG. 10A). In contrast, during the forced air intake, sincethe air flow is generated from the plurality of ventilation ports 122 tothe opening 121, the throttle portion 124 is positioned on an upstreamside of the gap space G (refer to FIG. 10B). Accordingly, the flowvelocity of the air flow around the gap space G is increased by thethrottle portion 124 during the forced air intake so that the air flowof the faster flow velocity is generated around the gap space G than theforced air exhaust. In other words, while being under control by thecontroller 14, it is possible to execute the ventilation around the gapspace G in a breeze mode (second mode) in which the air flow of the slowflow velocity is generated around the gap space G by executing theforced air exhaust and a strong wind mode (first mode) in which the airflow of the fast flow velocity is generated around the gap space G byexecuting the forced air intake. When ventilating through theventilation portion 38, exhaust air of the ultraviolet irradiation unit54 is also discharged outside the apparatus, thereby exhibiting afunction of exhaust heat as well.

As illustrated in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C and 12, each of the ultravioletirradiation units 54 has an irradiation unit main body 91 and, anattachment member 92 which is arranged on a rear side of the irradiationunit main body 91 and attaches the irradiation unit main body 91 to thepair of guide axes 61 in a slidable manner.

The irradiation unit main body 91 includes an ultraviolet irradiationportion (energy ray irradiation portion) 101 confronting the recordingmedium A, a fin-type heat sink 102 which is arranged on an upper side ofthe ultraviolet irradiation portion 101 and cools the ultravioletirradiation portion 101, a cooling fan 103 which is arranged on an upperside of the heat sink 102 and generates the air flow passing through(taking heat from) the heat sink 102, and an intake port 104 and anexhaust port 105 which are arranged on upper and lower front sides andperform the intake and discharge. The ultraviolet irradiation portion101 is constituted of a plurality of ultraviolet irradiation LEDs whichirradiate ultraviolet rays (electromagnetic waves) and arranged downwardin a lower portion of the irradiation unit main body 91. Each of theultraviolet irradiation units 54 cures (fix) the ultraviolet curing inkejected through the liquid ejecting head 52 by emitting the ultravioletray from the ultraviolet irradiation portion 101.

The irradiation unit main body 91 is arranged in the intake port 104 andhas a filter 106 which captures the ink mist, and an ink storage portion107 facing a lower end portion of the filter 106. In the irradiationunit main body 91, an L-shaped inner flow channel is formed from theintake port 104 to the exhaust port 105, and the intake port 104 and thefilter 106, the fan 103, the heat sink 102 and the exhaust port 105 arearranged from the upstream side in the listed order. If the fan 103 isdriven, an atmosphere including the ink mist is taken in from the intakeport 104, thereby discharging from the exhaust port 105 through thefilter 106 and the heat sink 102. In this manner, the ultravioletirradiation unit 54 takes in the atmosphere around the liquid ejectingunit 53 so as to function as the mist collecting portion which capturesand discharges the ink mist.

The intake port 104 is arranged in the upper portion of the irradiationunit main body 91 to be arranged upward and forward, that is, obliquelyupward. Meanwhile, the exhaust port 105 is arranged on a front side ofthe lower portion of the irradiation unit main body 91 to be arrangedforward. As illustrated in FIG. 8, a wall surface 36 c of the frontsurface wall 36 a in the apparatus cover 36 is configured to face theexhaust port 105.

The filter 106 is arranged on the intake port 104 to be arranged in anobliquely upward posture following the intake port 104. The filter 106extends forward to a directly upper portion of the ink storage portion107.

The ink storage portion 107 is arranged to face the lower end portion ofthe filter 106. The ink storage portion 107 has a storage container 111which receives and stores the ink, and an absorber 112 which fills thestorage container 111. If the filter 106 captures the ink mist and theink is accumulated in the filter 106, the accumulated ink gathers in thelower end portion of the filter 106 and reaches the ink storage portion107, thereby being stored thereafter.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration of theliquid ejecting apparatus 1. As illustrated in FIG. 13, the controller14 is connected to the support stage 11, the liquid ejecting portion 12and the Y-axis moving portion 13. The controller 14 receives operationalinformation from the operation panel portion 24 operated by a user andreceives a detection result (moving position) from the detector 72 ofthe X-axis moving portion 32. Meanwhile, the controller 14 controls thecarriage motor 65 of the X-axis moving portion 32, two liquid ejectingheads 52 of the liquid ejecting unit 53, the ultraviolet irradiationportion 101 and the fan 103 of each ultraviolet irradiation unit 54, theventilation fan 123 of the ventilation portion 38, and the driving motor88 of the Y-axis moving portion 13, thereby executing the recordingoperation.

During the recording operation, the controller 14 causes the ventilationfan 123 to be in the normal rotation driving and drives each fan 103 ofeach ultraviolet irradiation unit 54. The controller 14 intermittentlymoves the liquid ejecting portion 12 from the front side to the rearside using the Y-axis moving portion 13 (starts new line). At the timeof each stop while intermittently moving in the Y-axis direction, theliquid ejecting portion 12 moves the head unit 31 in the X-axisdirection using the X-axis moving portion 32 while emitting theultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet irradiation portion 101, therebyejecting the ink from the liquid ejecting head 52 (recording process).Accordingly, a desired image is recorded with respect to the recordingmedium A.

During the recording work, the pair of ultraviolet irradiation units 54reciprocates in the X-axis direction together with the liquid ejectingunit 53 in a state where each of the fans 103 is driven. Therefore, theultraviolet irradiation unit 54 collects the ink mist in the entireregion over the liquid ejecting portion 12 (inside apparatus cover 36)in the X-axis direction. In other words, a mist collecting operation isexecuted together with the recording operation in the configuration.

During the recording operation, the air flow from the front side to therear side is generated with respect to the surroundings of the gap spaceG by the normal rotation driving (forced air exhaust: breeze mode) ofeach of the ventilation fans 123, and the atmosphere above the liquidejecting portion 12 is taken in from the upper side and discharges tothe front side in the ultraviolet irradiation unit 54 by driving each ofthe fans 103. According to these, as illustrated in FIG. 10A, an airflow which flows upward from the exhaust port 105 of the ultravioletirradiation unit 54 as drawing an arc and reaches the intake port 104 ofthe ultraviolet irradiation unit 54, and an air flow which flowsdownward from the exhaust port 105 of the ultraviolet irradiation unit54 as drawing an arc and reaches the surroundings of the gap space G aregenerated. The ink mist on the former air flow is collected by theultraviolet irradiation unit 54 and the ink mist on the latter air flowis moved downwind of the air flow generated by the ventilation fan 123to be removed to the outside of the apparatus. As illustrated in thesame drawing, the ink mist moving downwind of the air flow generated bythe ventilation fan 123 is partially diverged to flow between the headunit 31 (liquid ejecting unit 53 and the ultraviolet irradiation unit54) and the X-axis moving portion 32. However, this ink mist alsoreaches the intake port 104 of the ultraviolet irradiation unit 54 to becollected.

In the embodiment, when a recording execution is directed from theoperation panel portion 24, a detecting operation is executed prior tothe recording operation. In other words, the recording medium A ismounted on the support stage 11 by the user in a state where the liquidejecting portion 12 is arranged on the rear side of the X-axis direction(standby position side when recording medium A is set). Then, the userdirects the recording execution through the operation panel portion 24in the state where the recording medium A is mounted (supported) on thesupport stage 11. If the recording execution is directed, the controller14 moves the liquid ejecting portion 12 to the front side in the X-axisdirection (operation panel portion 24 side) using the Y-axis movingportion 13. In this case, while the head unit 31 moves from the rearside in the X-axis direction to the front side in the X-axis direction,an obstacle detector (not illustrated) disposed in the liquid ejectingportion 12 detects contact between the liquid ejecting portion 12 and anobstacle, or whether or not there is the obstacle which may come intocontact with the head unit 31. The detecting operation is executed inthis manner. The obstacle detector detects whether or not there is apossibility of contact between the recording medium A and the head unit31, or whether or not there is the obstacle which may come into contactwith the head unit 31 on the recording medium A or the support stage 11.

When an obstacle is detected through this detecting operation, thecontroller 14 stops the movement of the liquid ejecting portion 12 tothe front side in the Y-axis direction and notifies the user of anerror. Meanwhile, when no obstacle is detected while moving the liquidejecting portion 12 from the rear side to the front side in the Y-axisdirection, the controller 14 determines that there is no obstacle andmoves the liquid ejecting portion 12 to a predetermined position on theother direction side of the Y-axis direction (recording start positionside), thereby stopping the liquid ejecting portion 12 temporarily.After the temporary stop, the liquid ejecting portion 12 is moved fromthe front side in the Y-axis direction (recording start position side)to the rear side, thereby starting the recording operation.

In the description of the recording operation, although it is describedthat “the ventilation fan 123 is in the normal rotation driving duringthe recording operation”, specifically, during the recording workincluding the recording operation and the detecting operation, theventilation fan 123 is in the normal rotation driving. The expression“during recording work” denotes a period from when the recordingexecution is directed to occur until recording ends with respect to onerecording medium A including “during recording operation” and “duringdetecting operation”. In other words, during the recording work, thecontroller 14 causes the ventilation fan 123 to be in the normalrotation driving, thereby executing the forced air exhaust (refer toFIG. 10A). Accordingly, during the recording work, the ventilationaround the gap space G is executed in the breeze mode. Meanwhile, duringstandby (after ending recording for one recording medium A and beforedirecting recording execution: not in recording work), the ventilationfan 123 is in the reverse rotation driving, thereby executing the forcedair intake (refer to FIG. 10B). Accordingly, during the standby, theventilation is executed around the gap space G in the strong wind mode.During the standby, that is, during the ventilation in the strong windmode, it is preferable that the head unit 31 be retreated to a homeposition in a right end in the X-axis direction.

According to the configuration described above, in the ventilationportion 38, it is possible to adjust the flow velocity of the air flowin the gap space G by only switching between the normal and reverserotation driving of the ventilation fan 123. During the recording work,air after being increased in the flow velocity by the throttle portion124 is caused to flow between the liquid ejecting portion 12 and thesupport surface of the support stage 11, and thus, it is possible tostrongly remove the ink mist as if blown off by the air flow of the fastflow velocity. Meanwhile, while not in the recording work, air beforebeing increased in the flow velocity by the throttle portion 124 iscaused to flow between the liquid ejecting portion 12 and the supportsurface of the support stage 11, and thus, it is possible to remove theink mist by the air flow of the slow flow velocity. Therefore, it ispossible to effectively prevent flying deflection of the ejected ink andthe spraying of the mist to the recording medium A. In this manner, theink mist can be removed through a simple configuration and inconveniencedoes not occur during the recording work.

It is possible to generate the uniform air flow in a directionorthogonal to a flow channel direction of the intake/exhaust flowchannel R (X-axis direction) by the slit shape of the slit portion 126or arrangement of the plurality of the throttle portions 124.

The flow channel between the plurality of the throttle portions 124 andthe plurality of the ventilation fans 123 is formed to be integrallymanifold, causing each of the throttle portions 124 to serve as a branchflow channel. Therefore, since the flowing amount of the air flow toeach of the throttle portions 124 is uniform regardless of the positionof the ventilation fan 123, it is possible to generate more uniform airflow in the direction orthogonal to the flow channel direction of theintake/exhaust flow channel R (X-axis direction).

It is possible to generate still more uniform air flow in the directionorthogonal to the flow channel direction of the intake/exhaust flowchannel R (X-axis direction) by providing the ventilation fan 123 to beparallel in the X-axis direction and to be plural in number.

It is possible to remove the ink mist scattered in the space other thanthe surroundings of the gap space G by providing the mist collectingportion (ultraviolet irradiation unit 54). Accordingly, it is possibleto prevent the ink mist from adhering to a mechanism (particularly,linear scale 71) positioned in a space other than the surroundings ofthe gap space G, causing inconvenience.

In the embodiment, the ventilation fan 123 may be configured to beprovided with the filter on either side of the front or rear(upstream/downstream side).

In the embodiment, a shutter which adjusts an amount of throttle(opening amount) may be configured to be included in each of the slitportions 126. In this case, for example, the controller 14 adjusts theamount of throttle in response to a type or a shape (particularly,thickness) of the recording medium A using the shutter in theconfiguration, thereby adjusting the flow velocity of the air flowduring the strong wind mode.

In the embodiment, the expression “while ejecting the liquid from theliquid ejecting unit to the medium” described in the aspect is regardedas “during the recording work”, and the expression “while not ejectingthe liquid from the liquid ejecting unit to the medium” described in theaspect is regarded as “while not performing the recording work”.However, the expression “while ejecting the liquid from the liquidejecting unit to the medium” described in the aspect is a conceptincluding “during the recording operation” and “during the recordingprocess”, and the expression “while not ejecting the liquid from theliquid ejecting unit to the medium” described in the aspect is a conceptincluding “while not in the recording operation” and “while not in therecording process”. In other words, the ventilation fan 123 may beconfigured to be in the normal rotation driving to execute theventilation in the breeze mode during the recording operation, and theventilation fan 123 may be in the reverse rotation driving to executethe ventilation in the strong wind mode while not in the recordingoperation. The ventilation fan 123 may be configured to be in the normalrotation driving to execute the ventilation in the breeze mode duringthe recording process (while ejecting ink as moving in X-axisdirection), and the ventilation fan 123 may be in the reverse rotationdriving to execute the ventilation in the strong wind mode while not inthe recording process. The expression “while ejecting the liquid fromthe liquid ejecting unit to the medium” is the concept further includingthe duration of the operation and the process in which the ink isejected from the liquid ejecting unit 53 to the recording medium A for apurpose other than the recording (for example, purpose of maintenance ordetection).

In the embodiment, although the aspect is applied to the liquid ejectingapparatus 1 which moves the head unit 31 in an XY-direction forrecording, the aspect may be configured to apply the head unit 31 with aline head to the liquid ejecting apparatus 1 (so-called line printer)which performs recording by moving in only the Y-axis direction.

In the embodiment, the X-axis direction is a so-called main scanningdirection, and the Y-axis direction is a so-called sub scanningdirection.

In the embodiment, although the ventilation fan 123 is configured to bearranged on the ventilation port 122 side, the ventilation fan 123 maybe configured to be arranged on the opening 121 side. The ventilationfan 123 may be configured to be arranged on both the ventilation port122 and the opening 121 side.

In the embodiment, although the direction of the air flow in theintake/exhaust flow channel R is switched in the configuration byswitching the normal/reverse rotation driving of the ventilation fan123, the direction of the air flow may be switched in the configurationby opening/closing control with respect to two ducts of which flowchannels are connected to the ventilation fan 123. For example, a firstduct of which the flow channel is connected to the ventilation fan 123to discharge air from the opening 121 side toward the ventilation port122 side, and a second duct of which the flow channel is connected tothe ventilation fan 123 to discharge air from the ventilation port 122side toward the opening 121 side are configured to be additionallyincluded, thereby switching the direction of the air flow by controllingthe opening/closing of each duct.

In the embodiment, the ventilation fan 123 is adopted as the air flowgeneration portion in the configuration without being limited thereto.For example, various air pumps may be adopted as the air flow generationportion in the configuration. As the method of generating an air flow,for example, a method of generating an air flow by moving a plate-shapedmember back and forth such as a round fan or a folded fan throughcompressing/expanding air, or a method of generating an air flow bygenerating a temperature difference in air using a heater of a coolingdevice is conceived.

In the embodiment, during the reverse rotation driving of eachventilation fan 123, the throttle portion 124 interposed by the flowchannel between each ventilation fan 123 and the gap space G is adoptedas the flow velocity increase portion which increases the flow velocityof the air flow around the gap space G without being limited thereto.For example, a fan may be adopted to be arranged as the flow velocityincrease portion such that the air flow generated by the reverserotation driving of each ventilation fan 123 is increased in velocity.

In the embodiment, the aspect is applied to the recording apparatususing the ultraviolet curing ink. However, the aspect may be applied toa recording apparatus using an ink which is cured by irradiatinginfrared rays of microwaves as a recording apparatus using theelectromagnetic wave curing ink. The aspect may be applied to arecording apparatus using general water-based ink and oil-based ink, agel ink, a hot melt ink and the like as an ink without being limited tothe recording apparatus using the electromagnetic wave curing ink.

In the embodiment, although the aspect is applied to a recordingapparatus which ejects an ink (printer), the aspect may be applied tothe liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects a liquid (liquid droplet) inaddition to the ink. For example, the aspect may be applied to a liquidejecting apparatus which ejects a liquid (functional fluid) containing amaterial such as an electrode material or a color material in adispersed or dissolved shape used to manufacture a liquid crystaldisplay, an organic electro-luminescence (EL) display, a plane emissiondisplay and a color filter.

In addition, the aspect may be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatuswhich ejects a living body organic material used to manufacture abiochip, a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects a liquid used as aprecision pipette being a specimen, a textile printing apparatus, or amicro-dispenser.

The aspect may be applied to a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects alubricant to a precision machine such as a timepiece, a camera and thelike with pinpoint accuracy, a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects atransparent resin liquid such as an ultraviolet curing resin on asubstrate to form a micro-hemisphere (optical lens) used for an opticalcommunication element, and a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects anetching liquid such as an acid or an alkali to perform etching such asthe substrate.

As the configuration for ejecting a liquid, a configuration in which theliquid is ejected to be scattered in a state where the liquid is in agranular shape, a configuration in which the liquid is ejected to bescattered in a state where the liquid is in a tear shape, aconfiguration in which the liquid is ejected to be scattered in a statewhere the liquid is filamentous with a lasting effect, and the like areconceived.

As the liquid, any liquefied material may be adopted as long as thematerial can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example,not only a fluid state material and a liquid as a state of a materialsuch as a liquid body with high or low viscosity, a sol, gel water,other inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquefiedresin, and liquefied metal (metallic melt) but also a material in whichparticles of a functional material formed of a solid body such as apigment or a metal particle are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in asolvent; and the like are conceived.

The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No.2013-071607,filed Mar. 29, 2013 is expressly incorporated by reference herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a stagethat has a support surface supporting a medium; a liquid ejectingportion that has a liquid ejecting unit ejecting a liquid to the mediumwhich is supported by the stage; an air flow generation portion thatcauses a gas to flow between the liquid ejecting portion and the supportsurface; a flow velocity increasing portion that increases a flowvelocity of the gas; and a controller that is enabled to execute a firstmode in which the gas increased in the flow velocity by the flowvelocity increasing portion flows between the liquid ejecting portionand the support surface, and a second mode in which the gas before beingincreased in the flow velocity by the flow velocity increasing portionflows between the liquid ejecting portion and the support surface,wherein the controller executes the second mode while ejecting theliquid from the liquid ejecting unit to the medium and executes thefirst mode while not ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejecting unitto the medium.
 2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the flow velocity increasing portion has a throttle portionwhich throttles a flow channel in which the gas flows.
 3. The liquidejecting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of thethrottle portions are provided, and wherein the plurality of throttleportions are arranged in parallel to each other.
 4. The liquid ejectingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the flow channel between the airflow generation portion and the plurality of throttle portions is formedto be integrally manifold with each of the throttle portions whichserves as a branch flow channel.
 5. The liquid ejecting apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein a plurality of air flow generationportions are provided, and wherein the plurality of air flow generationportions are arranged in parallel to each other.
 6. The liquid ejectingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting unit has aliquid ejecting head which ejects the liquid, an intake/exhaust portionwhich intakes and exhaust the gas, and a moving portion which moves theliquid ejecting head and the intake/exhaust portion, and wherein thecontroller drives the intake/exhaust portion when executing the firstmode.
 7. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein theintake/exhaust portion is provided with an intake port, an exhaust portand a filter which captures the liquid.
 8. A maintenance method of aliquid ejecting apparatus including a stage that has a support surfacesupporting a medium; a liquid ejecting portion that has a liquidejecting unit ejecting a liquid to the medium which is supported by thestage; an air flow generation portion that causes a gas to flow betweenthe liquid ejecting portion and the support surface; and a flow velocityincreasing portion that increases a flow velocity of the gas, the methodcomprising: causing the gas before being increased in the flow velocityby the flow velocity increasing portion to flow between the liquidejecting portion and the stage while ejecting the liquid from the liquidejecting unit to the medium; and causing the gas increased in the flowvelocity by the flow velocity increasing portion to flow between theliquid ejecting portion and the stage while not ejecting the liquid fromthe liquid ejecting unit to the medium.